Monthly Archives: October 2014

Gas Monkey Garage

Last night, viewers of Fast N’ Loud saw Gas Monkey Garage’s Richard Rawlings sell a 1965 2 door Impala that had been “restored” to a Tennessee casino for $75,000. That started a series of commentary on the “interweb” (as Rawlings refers to it) on whether it was fairly priced.

Now I am not a huge fan of “reality TV” car shows, mainly since many are far-fetched and stray quite a bit from the truth. And many of these builds, rushed for dramatic tension to meet unrealistic and unnecessary deadlines, show the outcomes of the haphazard workmanship. As the saying goes; “Fast, Good and Cheap – you can’t have all three”.

Richard Rawlings

Gas Monkey Garage, with Richard Rawlings and Aaron Kaufmann, has received some great publicity through their show on the Discovery Channel and had an interesting run offering the Chevrolet COPO Camaro. In January they sold a Ferrari at Barrett-Jackson that they had previously repaired on the show. If nothing else, Rawlings and crew have some great publicity working for them.

1965 Impala

We’ve seen Gas Monkey Garage’s work before, and haven’t seen this car in person, but seriously doubt that this car was close to being a $75,000 car. The show documented some rust issues by the window moldings, and the sun visors kept flipping down during the test drive, It didn’t appear during the show that any of the chrome or trim was reworked and the glass wasn’t swapped out. Ironically this car was originally bought from an impound yard after the owner failed to claim it.

Turns out the casino already give it away for a promotion and the new owner first tried to sell it on eBay. The auction started in late August and ending on September 4, 2014. But it only received six bids and stopped at $19,100; way below the reserve price. The owner claimed to be selling it to pay the taxes on the prize, a common issue with prize winners and the IRS.

Craigslist

Now the owner is offering it up on Craigslist for $33,500. The description still has some typos but with the hype from last’s night’s show, wonder if the seller will get his new asking price. Good luck!

What’s your opinion of the car and it’s value? Let us know.

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Ron Pratte’s extensive car collection, including cars and automobilia, is selling at the Barrett-Jackson Auction in Scottsdale, AZ. We have previously offered an exclusive look at his collection on this website. Our friends at Barrett-Jackson have just announced that they are expanding their auction dates to accommodate all the vehicles.

Barrett-Jackson Auction, January 2015

The auction in Scottsdale, AZ will now start on Saturday January 10th, with portions of Pratte’s automobilia being sold from Saturday January 10th through Tuesday the 13th. Traditionally the auction house starts each morning with some automobilia but his extensive collection obviously requires more lots and time. Usually car sales don’t start until Tuesday.

Ron Pratte Collection

Pratte collected a massive amount of cars and they are auctioning off his cars on Tuesday January 13th and on the “prime time” Saturday January 17th. Saturday afternoon and evening is traditionally the ONE day for the most anticipated vehicles, (like the Batmobile) selling at the highest prices.

Pratte’s collection includes some historic vintage cars, many built by highly regarded fabricators like Boyd Coddington and numerous cars he bought whose proceeds went to charity. In fact he often bought a charity car and then re-donated it back so it could be auctioned off again. Several of his cars are selling, with the proceeds going to specific charities, that he always has supported.

Looks like Barrett-Jackson week just got longer. Will you be attending?

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Escondido’s weekly car show, “Cruisin Grand“, wrapped up their summer of events this past Friday with one last show. It started back in April and we covered the start as well. There are just some awesome cars and trucks at this weekly show that you won’t see anywhere else.

Escondido

Escondido, California may be best known for being home to the San Diego Zoo’s Safari Park and is a short inland drive from San Diego’s cool tropical climate. But every Friday night, downtown Escondido heats up with a neat car show-cruise.

The main drive is reserved for classic cars and trucks. A few side streets are blocked off as well. bands play on various corners and an emcee/DJ plays some oldies and keeps the crowd entertained. But the real draw has to be the cars.

15 Year Anniversary

This is the 15th anniversary year for the free show that pulls in cars from across the SoCal car scene with their theme nights and club sponsorships. The final week is Nitro Night which is a huge draw and even picks up some national magazine coverage.

Escondido Downtown Merchants

Many restaurants stay open specifically for the Friday night cruise and there is a terrific kettle corn lady along with other food and drink vendors. It takes a large group of volunteers and some cash to keep this event safe and fun and they all do a good job!

It is worth the drive, if you are there on a Friday night next summer!

Here are some additional cars to feats your eyes on. Which is your favorite?

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Barrett-Jackson

Congratulations to our friends at Barrett-Jackson who took Las Vegas by storm with another record setting auction at Mandalay Bay on September 25-27, 2014. During those three days Barrett-Jackson had the largest number of vehicles in their Las Vegas history, with more than 700 vehicles offered up with sales exceeding $33 million.

Besides the volumes of cars, being Las Vegas meant plenty of celebrities and quasi-celebrities were there. Last year was packed with stars and more were seen this year

US flag at Barrett Jackson

Charity Cars at Barrett-Jackson

As is the case for all the Barrett-Jackson auctions, some cars were auctioned off to benefit specific charities. The auction house always waive their fees, so the full amount goes to the charities. You might have heard that the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat sold for $825,000. In addition another group matched that bid so the local charity received $1,650,000! Rick Hendricks bought that car, like he has bought numerous charity cars at the auctions. That’s the most money raised for charity from one car at any of the Barrett-Jackson auctions ever.

Welcome Car Auctions

Future Auction Coverage

This auction also marks the end of the Barrett-Jackson auctions being broadcasted by the Fox Networks. After years of being on SPEED and Fox, in 2015 the auction will now be covered by the Velocity Channel, part of the Discovery brand.

Can’t wait until January when all the auctions converge in Arizona! What about you?

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